Granted, their success was nominal in the States and they fared significantly better throughout Europe, but Dave "Dee" Harman (guitar/vocals), Trevor "Dozy" Davies (bass), John "Beaky" Diamond (rhythm guitar), Michael "Mick" Wilson (drums), and Ian "Tich" Amey
(lead guitar) were a highly underrated instrumentally self-contained
unit with a penchant for aggressive pop leanings that remained buoyant
and catchy, while simultaneously flirting with the subterranean
freakbeat and mod scenes as well. That distinction can be heard between
the pulsating rhythms of "Hold Tight," "No More Love," and "We Got a
Good Thing Goin'" -- recalling the unmistakable backbeat of the Dave Clark Five.
This is especially true of the opener, the self-parodying "DDD-BMT,"
which is not a synthetic drug reference, but rather the group's initials
and is instantly comparable to the Monkees'
"(Theme From) The Monkees," which commenced their pre-fab debut LP.
"Frustration," "Hard to Love You," and "All I Want to Do" are among the
standout rockers with a notably edgier sting and sonic punch. This is
stylistically augmented by the equally moving balladry of "Here's a
Heart" and the emotive midtempo "Something I Gotta Tell You." [Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich's
legacy is only partially represented by their albums, however.
Enthusiasts of the band should take note of the fact that this album was
reissued in 2003 as First Album, which supplements the original tune
stack with no less than a dozen bonus tracks -- consisting mostly of
45-only sides, edits, and alternate mixes. Many of these bonus tracks
likewise paved the way for the combo's next record, If Music Be the Food of Love...Then Prepare for Indigestion (1967).]
Personnel: Ian Fredericj Stephen "Tich" Amey (guitar) Dave Dee (vocals) John "Beaky" Dymond (guitar) Trevor Leonard "Dozy" Ward-Davies (bass) Michael "Mick" Wilson (drums) Tracklist: 01. DD-BMT (Howard/Blakley) 1.27 02. We´ve Got A Good Thing Goin´ (Martin/Coher) 2.23 03. Here´s A Heart (Tubbs/Sogol) 3.14 04. Something I Gotta Tell You (Howard/Blakley) 2.35 05. All I Want To Do (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond)2.38 06. Frustration (Howard/Blakley) 2.33 07. Hold Tight (Howard/Blakley)2.47 08. Hard To Love You (Howard/Blakley) 2.30 09.Nose For Trouble(Howard/Blakley) 4.03 10.No More Love(Howard/Blakley) 2.17 11. After Tonight (Howard/Blakley/Russo/Chelotti)2.57 12.No Time(Howard/Blakley) 2.08 13. Double Agent (Roland) 3.02 + 14. Is It Love (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond) 2.37 15. All I Want (single version) (Howard/Blakley) 2.35 16. It Seems A Pitty (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond) 2.25 17. You Make It Move (single version) (Howard/Blakley) 2.44 18. I Can´t Stop (Howard/Blakley) 2.10 19. You Know What I Want (Howard/Blakley) 2.35 20. Hideaway (single version) (Howard/Blakley) 2.23 21. Bend It (single version) (Howard/Blakley) 2.31 22. She´s So Good (single version) (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond) 2.24 23. Loos Of England (EP version) (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond) 3.26 24. Over And Over Again(Howard/Blakley) 2.21 25. Bend It (US version) (Howard/Blakley) 2.31 26. She´s So Good (alternate version) (Harman/Wilson/Davies/Amey/Dymond) 2.21
Joe South's
debut LP was deleted almost too quickly for most listeners to find it,
much less hear it.
Now regarded as a country-soul classic (and, perhaps,
the first country-soul album), Introspect anticipated the sound that Elvis Presley and Tony Joe White would both bring to the fore in the following year, except that it was even more ambitious than Presley or White,
mixing and bending genres in new and exciting ways. Country, Eastern
raga, gutbucket soul, and pop all brush up against each other within the
same songs, some of which sound like Elvis singing with a backing band that included James Burton and Ravi Shankar.
And thanks to South's
use of various electronic devices in association with the considerable
virtuosity in the playing, and his exceptional singing, this is still a
bracing album four decades later. "Games People Play" was the hit off
the record, and literally overwhelmed the album (which was pulled,
reshuffled, and reissued as Games People Play the following year). But also worth hearing are "Birds of a Feather," "Rose Garden" (which would become a huge hit for Lynn Anderson three years later), "All My Hard Times," and "Mirror of Your Mind," along with most of what's here.
Personnel: James Burton (guitar) Joe South (guitar, vocals) Ravi Shankar (sitar) + a bunch of unknown studio musicians
Tracklist: 01. All My Hard Times (South) 2.52 02. Rosen Garden (South) 2.46 03. Mirror Of Your Mind (South) 4.32 04. Redneck (South) 3.12 05. Don´t Throw Your Love To The Wind (South) 2.46 06. The Greatest Love (South) 2.28 07. Games People Play (South) 3.30 08. These Are Not My People (South) 2.28 09. Don´t YouBe Ashamed (South) 3.09 10. Birds Of A Feather (South) 4.14 11. Gabriel (South) 7.11
For die hard ufo fans, this is
the begining of the band, and the start of a hard rock story that
endures to this day.
This album is a product of the times in which it
was created, the echoes of the sixties were fading, and the violence and
upheaval of the seventies were on the horizon, and ufo was there to
create some sounds that were different than the peace and love era, and a
preview of things to come. With the first incarnation of this band,
they delivered some solid tunes, timothy is a great tribute to the
orginal guru of the acid days, boogie for george is a solid rockin tune
as well, all the songs are cool, and this is a must have album for the
collector, and a good intro to the band before they became the icons of
the area shows of the seventies during the michael era.
Give it a
listen, and turn on, tune in , and drop back to a time when the winds of
change were a coming (by Jet Books).
Personnel: Mick Bolton (guitar) Phil Mogg (vocals) Andy Parker (drums) Pete Way (bass)
Tracklist: 01. Unidentified Flying Object (U.F.O.) 2.19 02. Boogie (U.F.O.) 4.19 03. C´mon Everybody (Cochran/Capehear) 3.13 04. Shake It (U.F.O.) 3.48 05. (Come Away) Melinda (Hellerman/Minkoff) 5.05 06. Timothy (U.F.O.) 3.29 07. Follow You Home (Way) 2.14 08. Treacle People (Bolton) 3.25 09. Who Do You Love (McDanie) 7.50 10. Evil (Way) 3.27
Lou Rawls had one of the greatest voices in late 20th century popular
music. When he was here five years ago to tape a WHRO-produced PBS
special with Petula Clark at Chrysler Hall, he still had the goods---the
distinctive smoky-smooth baritone voice that graced hits like "Love is a
Hurtin' Thing" and "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," and gave
those Garfield specials a touch of class, was in fine shape.
Three years later, though, he was diagnosed with lung cancer (he had
smoked in his younger days) and last spring, brain cancer. When he died
on January 6th at the age of 70 (or 72; his year of birth is listed
differently in different places), he left behind a rich legacy of jazz,
soul, blues, gospel and R&B deserving of rediscovery by those who
may only know the hits, the beer commercials and the cat cartoons.
His passing was particularly poignant to me because I've been
reading a fascinating new biography of Sam Cooke called Dream Boogie, by
Peter Guralnick, in which Rawls plays a prominent role. I didn't know
that Cooke and Rawls had been close friends growing up in Chicago, and
that Lou actually took Sam's place in the teenage gospel group, the
Highway QCs, after Cooke left to join the Soul Stirrers in 1950. They
remained friends, surviving an automobile accident together near Marion,
Arkansas, while traveling between gigs in St. Louis and Greenville,
Mississippi, in November 1958. Though Cooke had only minor injuries, the
driver was killed and Rawls was left in a coma that lasted a week. It
took him three months to regain his memory and a year to fully recover.
In 1962, he began recording as a soloist in his own right. He'd been
doing background vocals on his friend's records---his is the voice
heard in duet with Cooke on "Bring it on Home to Me," both in harmony
and in the "yeah - yeah" call and response sections of the refrain. But
late on a cold January night that year, he entered the Capitol Records
studio in LA with pianist Les McCann's jazz trio and laid down the
tracks for his first album.
Released as Stormy Monday, it is one of my favorite jazz vocal
records of all time. Hearing Rawls in such a sparse, unadorned setting
is a revelation as he wraps his golden voice around the familiar words
of a batch of bluesy standards. From the swinging title track and "Sweet
Lover" to the blustery "I'd Rather Drink Muddy Water" and the soft
balladry of "Lost and Lookin'" and "Willow Weep for Me," he takes these
well worn chestnuts and gives them new life. It's an impressive
performance. His "God Bless the Child" is the definitive version of
Billie Holiday's most famous song.
Lou Rawls would go on to become an award winning, chart topping
singer during the golden era of `60s and `70s soul music. He would cover
many musical bases during his 40-year solo career---his last CD was
called Rawls Sings Sinatra. But for a full appreciation of his vocal
magic in its prime, Stormy Monday is a must-have.
Personnel: Ron Jefferson (drums) Les McCann (piano) Lou Rawls (vocals) Leroy Vinnegar (bass)
Alternate frontcover
Tracklist: 01. (They Call It) Stormy Monday (Walker) 3.40 02. God Bless The Child (Holiday/Herzog Jr.) 4.25 03. See See Rider (Rainey) 3.08 04. Willow Weep For Me (Ronall) 5.50 05. I´m Gonna Move To The Outskirts Of Town ((Waldon/Jacobs) 3.55 06. In The Evening (When The Sun Goes Down) (Carr/Raye) 3.25 07. Tain´t Nobody Biz-Ness If I Do (Grainger/Robbins) 2.40 08. Lost And Lookin´(Jordan/Alexander) 3.07 09. I´d Rather Drink Muddy Water (Miller) 3.50 10. Sweet Lover (McFarland/Wyche) 3.05 + 11. (They Call It) Stormy Monday (alternate take) (Walker) 2.59
